Apparatus for lining caps



, Feb. 18, 1947. J. BELADA APPARATUS FOR LINING CAPS Fi ed Feb. '5, 194:'2 shets-sneet 1 INVENTOR 270/": Be

' ATT-ORN Y5 Feb. 1s,.-1947. DA

' APPARATUS FOR LINING cgrs 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5

12:22:.Sii-ii INVENTOR John Beldda [ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 18, 1947APPARATUS FOR: LINING CAPS John Belada, Glassboro, N. J., assignor toOwens- Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio ApplicationFebruary 5, 1943. Serial No. 474,819 (Cl. 91 4s) 10 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus for applying coating or liningmaterials to articles and is particularly adapted for applying liningmaterial such as wax or the like to the interior of caps used asclosures for bottles, jars and other containers. Such lining may serveas a sealing gasket. An object of my invention is to provide anapparatus by which a sealing material may be applied to a series of capsin rapid succession.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus inwhich the sealing material is applied while hot andin a liquidcondition, then distributed and evenly spread over the sealing area andthereafter cooled and solidified to form a sealing gasket.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of thecharacter indicated by which measured quantities of the wax or sealingmaterial are withdrawn from a pool of the molten material and dischargedinto the inverted caps which are to be lined, the material; being thenspread and distributed to form an annular liner and thereafter cooledand solidified.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferredembodiment of my invention:v

Fig. 1 is a part-sectional longitudinal elevation of a portion of theapparatus.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the remaining portion, Figs. 1 and 2 takentogether showing the entire apparatus.

Figs. 3 to '7 are part-sectional elevational views 01 a pipette andassociated parts, illustrating. successive steps in the operation.

Fig. 3 shows a pipette lowered into the pool of molten material.

Fig. 4 shows the valve opened, permitting the material to flow into thepipette up to the level of the pool.

Fig. 5 shows the valve closed to retain the material while the pipetteis transferred to a discharge position.

6- shows the pipette positioned over a cap.

Fig. 7 shows the valve open and the material being discharged.

Fig. 8 is a sectional View of an inverted cap into which the liningmaterial has been discharged.

Fig. 9 is a similar view after the lining material has been distributed.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the apparatus com.- prises atank itcontaining a pool of the lining material I l (herein referred to as wax)in amolten or liquid form. The molten wax is supplied to the tank Infrom a reservoir or supply tank I2. The wax is first introduced into atank I3 and melted by means of burners M. The molten wax is run from thetank l3 through a tap l5 into the reservoir I2 in which it may befurther heated and/or retained at the required temperature'by means of aburner l 5 beneath the reservoir. The molten wax flows from thereservoir l2 through a tap ll into the tank H]. A burner 18 extendinglengthwise beneath the tank In maintains the wax at the requiredtemperature.

Pipettes 20 are mounted on an endless sprocket chain conveyor orconveyors 2|, trained over sprocket wheels 22 and Z3 and drivencontinuously in the direction indicated by the arrows. As the pipettespass around the sprocket wheel 22. they are inverted from an upright toa depending position by. which they are caused to dip into the pool Hfor the gathering operation.

.The conveyor 2| passes beneath sprocket wheels 26 by which it is guidedand the pipettes held partially immersed to the required depth whilereceiving charges of the molten wax, the volume of each charge dependingupon the depth of the pipette. After the pipettes have received theircharges they are withdrawn from the pool and brought over an endlessconveyor 25 which carries the caps or closures 26 into which lining ma-'are uniformly spaced apart by s aci blocks-29.

(Figs. 6 and '7) on the conveyor 25. The pipettes are correspondinglyspaced, preferably throughout the entire length of the conveyor 2|,although they are not all shown on the drawings. The pipette conveyor 2|as shown in Fig. 1 extends a considerable distance beyond the tank IIIat. the left-hand end thereof in overlapping relation to the capconveyor 25 to permit the discharge of the lining material into the capsas hereinafter described.

A heating chamber or compartment 30 (Fig. 22) positioned beyond theconveyor 2| is proyided with a series of lamps or heaters 3|. The caps26 travel lengthwise through the heatin chamber 3!! on the conveyor 25and a conveyor idischargedr 32, and are thereby heated. The burners 3|ar preferably arranged directly over the path of the caps and direct theheat rays against the caps and the wax therein for heating anddistributing the wax. The conveyor 32 extends through a coolingcompartment or chamber 33 provided with fans 34 which blow cooling airdownwardly against the caps and thereby cool them and harden theliningmaterial. The pipettes 20 may be heated as by means of a gas burner 35(Fig. 1) before they are dipped into the pool. 1

Referring to Figs. 3 to '7, each pipette include a tubular stem 36having a constricted opening atits lower end, and a cylindrical head 3'!attached to the stem and formed with a passageway therethrough. The head3'! is mounted in a supporting bar 38 which'may be in the form of acrossbar adapted for supporting a plurality of ,the pipettes. 7

"reel: arm which is connected by a pivot 42 A ball valve 40 is mountedin a .to an arm 43 attached to the bar 38. The valve is adapted to seatonthe head 31 and seal the 'opening. I

The valve is opened to permit a charge of the molten wax to flow intothe pipette, by means of a stationary cam 44 (Figs. 1 and 3 topositioned over the lowermost portion of the conveyor 2|. As a pipetteapproaches the gathering area, a button on the arm 4|, engages the camand swings the arm up, opening the valve (Fig. 4). This relieves the airpressure in the pipette and permits the liquid wax to flow upwardlytherein to the level of the pool. The button 45 runs off the cam (Fig.5) before the pipette is withdrawn from the pool. A coil spring 46 thencloses the valve and prevents premature discharge of the liquid fromthepipette.

Asecond cam 41 (Fig, 1) similar to the cam 44, serves to open the valveand hold it open a 'sufiicient length of time for discharging the moltenwax. Fig. 6 shows a pipette brought directly over a cap just before thevalve is opened. Fig. 7 shows the valve open and the molten wax beingThecap 26 may be ofconventional form as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 andcomprises a circularb'ody or cover portion 48 and a skirt or flange '49,with an intermediate annular portion 50 adapted to seat on the rim of ajar or other container when the cap is applied thereto. The body 48 ofthe inverted cap as shown is somewhat convexed upwardly and the annularsealing portion 50 is o-fiset downwardly, thereby providing a shallowannular trough to receive the' sealing material. The molten materialwhen discharged onto the body portion 48 runs by gravity into therecessed portion 5fland is uniformly distributed therein to form thering gasket 5| or lining (Fig. 9) of sealing wax; This distribution ofthe molten wax takes place while the caps are traveling through the]heating compartment 30, the cooling and setting of the wax taking placein the cooling compartment 33.: e

Modifications may be-resortedto within the spirit and Stem of myinvention.

Iclaim:

through the pool while traversing the gathering 1. The combination of acontainer for a pool of molten lining material, an endless travelingconveyor, means for guiding the conveyor and causing a portion thereofto travel horizontally over the pool, through a gathering zone, pipettescarried by said conveyor and arranged to project downward therefrom intothe pool and be carried zone and gather charges of the molten material,a second conveyor arranged to travel beneath said first mentionedconveyor, and means for causing the pipettes to discharge the gatheredmaterial into caps supported on and traveling with said second conveyor.

2. The combination of a container for a pool of molten lining material,an endless conveyor, pipettes carried thereby, means for driving theconveyor and causing the pipettes to dip into the pool and travel withthe conveyor while in dip, valves for the pipettes, means for openingthe valves and holding them open while the pipettes are in dip andclosing them before the pipettes are withdrawn from the pool, and meansfor again opening the pipettes at a position beyond the pool fordischarging the material therefrom.

3.- The combination of a container for a pool of molten wax, an endlessbelt conveyor, pipettes,

means for attaching the pipettes to the conveyor 7 with the pipettesprojecting outwardly from the conveyor, means for guiding said conveyorand causing a portion thereof to travel horizontally over the poolthrough a gathering zone with the projecting pipettes extending downwardinto the pool while traversing said gathering zone, valves individual tosaid pipettes, a stationary ,cam, means operated by the cam for openingthe valves and thereby admitting charges of the molten material into thepipettes, and means for closing the valves before the pipettes arewithdrawn from the pool.

4. The combination of a container for a pool of molten wax, an endlessbelt conveyor, pipettes, means for attaching the pipettes to theconveyor with the pipettes projecting outwardly from the conveyor, meansfor guiding said conveyor and causing a portion thereof to travelhorizontally over the pool through a gatherin zone with the conveyorcomprising a portion traveling over the tank and a portion extendedbeyond the tank, pipettes, means for attaching the pipettes to theconveyor to travel therewith with the pipettes projecting into positionto be partially immersed in the pool while traveling with the conveyor,valves for said pipettes, a stationary cam means actuated by the cam foropening and closing the valves while the pipettes are moving through thepool, asecond stationary cam, and means actuated thereby for opening thevalves while the pipettes are traveling with that portion of theconveyor which extends beyond the pool.

6. The combination of a pipette comprising a tubular stem, a headconnected to the stem at one end thereof and having an opening extendingtherethrough in registerwith the stem, an arm pivotally connected tosaid head, a valve carried by said arm and movable thereby into positionto 'jseaton said head and close said opening, means tion to close thevalve, said stem having a. restricted opening at the free end thereof.

7. The combination of a pipette comprising a tubular stem, a headconnected thereto at one end thereof and having an opening extendingtherethrough in register with the stem, a valve mounted for movementinto and out of position to seat on said head and close said opening, acam, and means actuated thereby for openin the valve.

8. The combination of a pipette comprising a tubular stem, a headconnected thereto and having an opening extending thereth'rough inregister with the stem, an arm pivotally connected to said head, a ballvalve carried by said arm, a cam,

means for efiecting a relative movement of said head and cam and therebycausing the cam to swing said arm. and open the Valve, and a spring forreturning said arm and closing the valve.

9. A pipette comprising a tubular stern, a head attached to said stemand having a bore extending therethrough in line with the stem, atraveling chain conveyor, a supporting block attached to and carriedwith the conveyor and in which said head is mounted, a container for apool of liquid material in position for the pipette to move through thepool as it travels with the conveyor, a lever arm having a pivotalconnection with said block, a ball valve carried on said arm andpositioned over said head, a cam, means for supporting the cam inposition to swing said arm and lift the valve While the pipette ismoving through the pool, and a spring for returning said arm and movingthe valve downward to close the pipette.

a pipette carried thereby and comprising a depending tubular stem withan inlet and discharge opening at the lower end thereof, means forintroducing a measured quantity of a lining material in liquid formthrough saidopening into the traveling pipette and thereby bringing thematerial to a predetermined level within said stem, and means forretaining the material at said level while the pipette is carried by theconveyor to a discharging position, means for discharging said materialthrough said opening while the pipette is traveling with the conveyor,and means for supporting a cap in position to receive the material as itis discharged.

JOHN BELADA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,197,723 Edison Sept. 12, 19161,611,356 McKaig Dec. 21, 1926 1,992,464 Blackman Feb. 26, 19352,038,607 Sauer Apr. 28, 1936 2,095,471 Hayward Oct. 12, 1937 2,244,651Goebel et a1. June 3, 1941 2,316,984 Brockel Apr. 20, 1943 605,146Stokes June 7, 1898 2,156,112 Dykema Apr. 25, 1939 2,164,244 Jung June2'7, 1939

